Chief of Personnel (Indian Navy)

Chief of Personnel
Flag of the Vice Admiral
since 10 May 2024
 Indian Navy
TypePrincipal Staff Officer
AbbreviationC.O.P
Reports toChief of the Naval Staff
SeatNaval Headquarters, New Delhi

The Chief of Personnel (COP) in the Indian Navy is a senior appointment in the rank of Vice-Admiral. As a Principal Staff Officer (PSO) at Naval Headquarters (NHQ), the COP is responsible for personnel-related matters. The present COP is Vice-Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, who was appointed on 6 October 2023.

History

At the time of Independence of India, the COP was one of five PSOs at Naval headquarters. The appointment was held by an officer of the rank of Captain. On 24 September 1956, the appointment was upgraded to the rank of Commodore (Second Class).[1][2][3] The directorates of personnel services, training education, medical services, judge advocate general and the supply branch were under the COP.[4]

In 1965, the appointment was further upgraded to Rear Admiral. Rear Admiral K. R. Nair was the first COP in this rank, when he took over on 17 August 1965.[5][6][7] The post was further upgraded to Vice Admiral in March 1973.[8] During this re-organisation, an assistant PSO post was created - Assistant Chief of Personnel (ACOP) - a two-star appointment. In the 1980s, two new directorates were formed under the COP - Financial Planning (Non-public funds) in 1985 and Ex-Servicemen Affairs (DESA) in 1988.[4]

Organisation

The COP heads the Personnel Branch at the Naval Headquarters. The following Directors General/Controllers/Assistant Principal Staff Officers report into the COP.[9]

  • Controller of Personnel Services
  • Director General Medical Services
    • Assistant Director General Medical Services
  • Assistant Chief of Personnel (HRD)
  • Assistant Chief of Personnel (Administration and Civilian)
  • Judge Advocate General

Appointees

S.No. Name Assumed office Left office Notes
Commodore Henry Richmond Inigo-Jones January 1947 August 1947 Last British appointee.[10]
1 Captain Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman August 1947 February 1949 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[11]
2 Captain Ram Dass Katari February 1949 14 December 1951 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[12][13]
3 Captain Benjamin Abraham Samson 14 December 1951 June 1954 [14][15]
4 Commodore Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda September 1954[n 1] November 1956 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[1][16]
5 Commodore Gyan Sarup Kapoor February 1957 20 November 1959 [6][3]
6 Commodore Kesavapillai Ramkrishnan Nair (first tenure) 20 November 1959 1963 [5][3][7]
7 Commodore Douglas St. John Cameron 1963 June 1965 [17][5]
8 Rear Admiral Kesavapillai Ramkrishnan Nair (second tenure) June 1965[n 2] December 1967 [5]
9 Rear Admiral Jal Cursetji December 1967 20 February 1970 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[18][19][20]
Commodore Elenjikal Chandy Kuruvila 20 February 1970 October 1970 Officiating.[21]
10 Vice Admiral Rabindra Nath Batra PVSM October 1970[n 3] March 1976 [22][23]
11 Vice Admiral Rustom K. S. Ghandhi VrC March 1976 March 1977 [24]
12 Vice Admiral Swaraj Parkash PVSM, MVC, AVSM March 1977 March 1979 [25][26]
13 Vice Admiral Manohar Prahlad Awati VrC 1 April 1979 February 1981 [27]
14 Vice Admiral Sardari Lal Sethi AVSM February 1981 25 February 1982 [28]
15 Vice Admiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni AVSM, VSM, NM 16 August 1982 April 1984 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[29][30]
16 Vice Admiral S. M. Gadihoke PVSM 30 June 1984 June 1988 [31][32]
17 Vice Admiral Vasant Laxman Koppikar AVSM 6 July 1988 1992 [33]
18 Vice Admiral R. B. Suri 1992 December 1994
19 Vice Admiral Kailash K. Kohli AVSM 5 January 1995 30 November 1995 [34]
20 Vice Admiral Sushil Kumar UYSM, AVSM, NM 4 December 1995 October 1996 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[35][36]
21 Vice Admiral P. J. Jacob AVSM, VSM 20 November 1996 31 March 1998 [37][38]
22 Vice Admiral John Colin De Silva AVSM March 1998 March 1999 [39][40]
23 Vice Admiral Arun Prakash AVSM, VrC, VSM March 1999 3 October 2001 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[41]
24 Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh 3 October 2001 May 2002 [42][43]
25 Vice Admiral Sureesh Mehta AVSM May 2002 January 2003 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[44]
26 Vice Admiral Yashwant Prasad PVSM, AVSM, VSM January 2003 October 2003 [45]
27 Vice Admiral Venkat Bharathan AVSM, VSM October 2003 August 2005 Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[46]
28 Vice Admiral S. K. Damle August 2005 July 2007 [47]
29 Vice Admiral D. K. Dewan July 2007 September 2009 Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[48]
30 Vice Admiral M. P. Muralidharan AVSM, NM September 2009 January 2012 [49]
31 Vice Admiral Anurag Thapliyal AVSM January 2012 March 2013 [50]
32 Vice Admiral Parasurama Naidu Murugesan AVSM, VSM March 2013 31 July 2015[n 4] Later Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[52]
33 Vice Admiral Abhay Raghunath Karve AVSM 24 August 2015 28 May 2016 Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.[53]
34 Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla AVSM, VSM, NM 28 May 2016 1 August 2018 Later Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Naval Command.[54]
35 Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar AVSM, VSM 1 August 2018 2 December 2019 Later Chief of the Naval Staff.[55]
36 Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh AVSM, NM 2 December 2019 31 May 2021 Later Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.[56]
37 Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi AVSM, NM 1 June 2021 28 February 2023 Current Chief of the Naval Staff.[57]
38 Vice Admiral Suraj Berry AVSM, NM, VSM 1 April 2023 6 October 2023 Current Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command.[58]
39 Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan AVSM, VSM 6 October 2023 30 April 2024 Current Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.[59]
40 Vice Admiral Sanjay Bhalla AVSM, NM 10 May 2024 Present Current COP.[60]

Notes

  1. ^ Post upgraded to Commodore Second Class from 24 September 1956.[1]
  2. ^ Post upgraded to Rear Admiral 17 August 1965.[5]
  3. ^ Post upgraded to Vice-Admiral in March 1973.[8]
  4. ^ Officiating from March-July 2015.[51]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 27 April 1957. p. 107.
  2. ^ "Indian Navy Makes Rapid Headway" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 15 December 1956. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 9 April 1960. p. 87.
  4. ^ a b Hiranandani 1999.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Naval Promotions to Flag Rank" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 17 August 1965. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Changes in Senior Naval Appointments" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 23 November 1956. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Admiral Nair - New Flag Officer, East Coast" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 17 July 1967. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Naval Headquarters Reorganised" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 9 March 1973. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Personnel Branch | Indian Navy". indiannavy.nic.in.
  10. ^ "Press Note" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 December 1950. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  11. ^ Nanporia, N. J., ed. (1967). "Who's Who in India (Soman, Bhaskar Sadashiv)". The Times of India Directory & Yearbook, including Who's Who. The Times of India Press, Bombay. p. 1034.
  12. ^ "NHQ Reorganised" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 3 February 1949. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Captain Katari to Take Over Command of I.N. Destroyer Flotilla" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 26 November 1956. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  14. ^ "New Chief of Personnel for Naval HQ" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 14 December 1951. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  15. ^ "I.N. Appointments" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 25 June 1954. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Two New Commodores for Navy - Upgrading of Naval HQ Posts" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 10 October 1956. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Press Note" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 May 1964. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Commodore Krishnan New Navy Vice-Chief" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 11 December 1967. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Biographical Sketches" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 20 February 1970. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  20. ^ "New Naval Appointments" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 20 February 1970. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Naval Promotions" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 7 August 1970. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Naval Appointments" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 8 August 1970. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  23. ^ "Admiral Kamath to be Naval Vice Chief: Batra and Tandon Promoted Vice Admiral" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 21 March 1973. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  24. ^ "New Chief for Western Fleet" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 3 March 1976. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  25. ^ "Admiral Parkash Naval Chief of Personnel" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 8 March 1977. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  26. ^ "Vice Admiral Swaraj Parkash To Take Over as Vice Chief of Naval Staff" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 22 February 1979. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  27. ^ "Rear Admiral Awati Promoted" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 31 March 1979. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Admiral Sethi Appointed Vice Chief of Naval Staff" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 25 February 1982. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Vice Admiral JG Nadkarni New Chief of Personnel" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 16 August 1982. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  30. ^ "Senior Naval Appointments" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 6 April 1984. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Vice Admiral S.M. Gadihoke New Chief of Personnel" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 June 1984. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  32. ^ "New Captain Commandant for the Navy" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 28 December 1989. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  33. ^ "New Chief of Personnel at Naval Headquarters" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 6 July 1988. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  34. ^ "Admiral Kohli Appointed as New Vice Chief of Indian Navy" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 22 November 1995. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  35. ^ "Key Naval Appointments Announced" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 30 October 1996. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  36. ^ "New Chief of Personnel at Naval Headquarters" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 5 December 1995. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  37. ^ "Vice Admiral PJ Jacob Takes Over as Chief of Personnel" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 20 November 1996. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  38. ^ "Top Naval Appointments Announced by the Government" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 26 February 1998. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  39. ^ "Vice Admiral DeSilva Takes Over as New DG Coast Guard" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 5 March 1999. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  40. ^ "VICE ADMIRAL JOHN C DESILVA, PVSM, AVSM, ADC VICE CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF RETIRES". Press Information Bureau - Archive. 30 September 2003.
  41. ^ "I Reports of the Task Forces on 'Management of Internal Security' and 'Management of Defence' Presented" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. 1 October 2000.
  42. ^ "Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh Takes Over as Chief of Personnel" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 5 October 2001. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  43. ^ "Mandanjit Singh appointed flag office commander". Zee News. 21 May 2002. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  44. ^ "New Coast Guard chief takes over". Times of India. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  45. ^ "VICE ADMIRAL YASHWANT PRASAD, PVSM, AVSM, VSM". Press Information Bureau - Archive. 15 October 2003.
  46. ^ "Barthan new Vice Chief of Naval staff". Zee News. 23 August 2005. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  47. ^ "Vice-Admiral Damle takes over as FOC-in-Chief". OneIndia.com. 28 July 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  48. ^ "Former Vice Admiral DK Dewan appointed new UPSC member". Zee News. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  49. ^ "Vice Admiral Muralidharan is new Navy HR chief". The Economic Times. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  50. ^ "Vice-Admiral Thapliyal is Navy's Chief of Personnel". The Hindu. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  51. ^ Kulkarni, Pranav (27 July 2015). "Defence Ministry pulls up Navy for leaving HR spot open for 4 months". The Indian Express. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  52. ^ "Vice Admiral P Murugesan, AVSM, VSM assumes charge as Vice Chief of Naval Staff (VCNS)". Indian Defence Review. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  53. ^ "VICE ADMIRAL AR KARVE, AVSM ASSUMES CHARGE AS CHIEF OF PERSONNEL AT NAVAL HEADQUARTERS". Indian Navy. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  54. ^ "Vice Admiral AK Chawla, AVSM, VSM, NM assumes charge as Chief of Personnel". Indian Navy. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  55. ^ "Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar, AVSM VSM Assumes Charge as Chief of Personnel". Indian Navy. Indian Navy. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  56. ^ "Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh, AVSM, NM". Indian Navy. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  57. ^ "Chief of Personnel: Vice Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi AVSM, NM". Press Information Bureau (Government of India). Press Information Bureau. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  58. ^ "Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh to be new navy vice chief". Hindustan Times. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  59. ^ "Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan AVSM VSM assumes charge as Chief of Personnel Indian Navy". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  60. ^ "VICE ADMIRAL SANJAY BHALLA, AVSM, NM ASSUMES CHARGE AS THE CHIEF OF PERSONNEL OF INDIAN NAVY". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 May 2024.

Bibliography

  • Hiranandani, G.M. (1999), Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975, Spantech & Lancer, ISBN 978-1897829721